Hood ornaments on automobiles are prime targets for vandals. Cars with removeable hood ornaments are usually luxury cars, and such vandals are quick to seize on any opportunity to vandalize cars of this type.
Clearly it is desirable to provide some form of alarm device which is activated by anyone tampering with the hood ornament, before the ornament can become damaged.
Various proposals have been made in the past for this purpose. However, in most of these proposals it has been necessary to more or less incorporate the alarm device in the automobile as it was manufactured. Clearly, it is desirable to provide such an alarm device which can be retro-fitted to an existing automobile, without disturbing the construction or design of the automobile.
The great majority of hood ornaments of this type incorporate some form of spring loading attachment. The reason for this, is simply safety. In the event of an accident, the hood ornament is then readily deflected so as to minimize risk of injury or damage.